The first time I met Jake Jacobson 10 years ago, I thought he had just gotten out of prison. Seriously.

With his orange shirt, craggy face, and raspy voice, that was my first guess.

I was sitting next to him at a men’s support group on Rainier Avenue South in Seattle. We were surrounded by guys who actually had been incarcerated for various reasons.

It was a weekly meeting of DADS (aboutdads.org), a Seattle nonprofit that helps men who want to reunite with their children, often after years of being absent fathers and living lives of crime, addiction, drug abuse, and irresponsibility.

Jake had supported DADS for years and became close friends with its co-founders, Marvin and Jeanett Charles. I was fairly new to the group. I strongly believe that fatherlessness is a huge problem nationwide and a root cause of many other serious problems. Fathers matter.

When I started chatting with Jake, I soon realized how wrong my first impression was. He was a graduate of Princeton and Stanford Law School, an attorney, a builder, a construction-firm executive, head of Associated General Contractors, and a Mercer Island City Council member. He was also a member of Mercer Island Rotary Club, where we often met for lunch. We became good friends and agreed on many issues.

Jake changed my life when he asked me to promote a Mercer Island parks levy vote a few years ago. He wanted me to help write the “pro” statement in the voters’ pamphlet. I readily agreed. A small group of us worked together on the statement and the levy passed by an overwhelming majority.

I later worked with Jake to help the city renovate the aging playground at Mercerdale’s “Train” Park. It was totally inaccessible to disabled children like my grandson Ford. A coalition of parents and grandparents urged the city to make the playground more accessible and inclusive. We succeeded. The site opened to great acclaim and is now perhaps the most popular playground on the island.

Ever since then, I had been working closely with Jake on the city’s next big playground renovation project – Deane’s Children’s Park, known as “Dragon Park,” just off Island Crest Way next to Island Park Elementary School. To its credit, the city Parks and Recreation Department now has a talented team doing a new site plan. They are reaching out to kids and families for feedback and suggestions through online surveys, open houses, classroom visits, with more to come.

A citizens’ coalition, Friends of Dragon Park, has again formed to help. Rotary Club of Mercer Island is championing the effort, along with Mercer Island Preschool Association, Friendship Circle, Moms4Safe Mercer Island, and the Mercer Island Chinese Association. If you want to help, join our FoDP Facebook page and stay tuned for more details as the site plan progresses.

We pledge to help the city team in any way we can, including raising public awareness, encouraging citizen input, offering design suggestions, and raising additional funds as the plan and budget take shape over the summer. A final design will be ready by fall for Parks Commission and City Council approval.

Our MI Rotary Club has already unanimously approved a $3,000 grant to Friends of Dragon Park. It may be matched by the Rotary District #5030, which includes more than 50 other clubs in the metropolitan region. Corporate, foundation and individual donations will be welcome once the design is farther along. Jake was fully supportive of our efforts, along with Mayor Salim Nice and other Council members.

At a memorial “Remembrance Event” held at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue on May 31, several hundred people came to pay tribute to this remarkable man. Old friends and colleagues from college, law school, the Navy, and several past jobs delivered testimonials.

Among the most moving remarks were from MI Mayor Nice, who worked closely with Jake on the City Council and was a good friend. Here are some excerpts:

“Jake was always the first to ask, ‘How can we make this happen?’ And then he’d roll up his sleeves and see it through, with enthusiasm, generosity, and heart. He also had a remarkable ability to bring people together. Jake could disagree without dividing. He listened with genuine interest, welcomed every viewpoint, and often reminded us that even when we cast different votes, we all shared the same goal: to do what’s best for Mercer Island…

“So let’s honor Jake not just with words, but with action. Let’s listen more. Let’s show up for one another. Let’s find joy in shared moments…

“Jake made Mercer Island better. Kinder. Stronger. More connected. And because he walked among us, with his big heart and that unmistakable twinkle in his eye, we are better too.

“Jake, thank you for your service, your friendship, and your example. You will be dearly missed, but your spirit will stay with us – in the community you loved and served so well.”

There is some discussion of naming something or someplace on the Island after Jake. Great idea. As Mayor Nice said, his legacy is indeed everywhere.

Another way to honor Jake: Attend the DADS Annual Fatherhood Banquet on Saturday, June 14, at the Hyatt Regency in Renton. Tickets are still available at aboutdads.org. Friends from Rotary and DADS are filling two tables in Jake’s honor. Join us.

I’ll be wearing orange. It was Jake’s favorite color. For Princeton, not prison!

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John Hamer (jhamer46@gmail.com) is a former editorial writer/columnist for The Seattle Times who has lived on Mercer Island for 25 years. He is co-founder of the Friends of Dragon Park coalition and an active member of the MI Rotary Club. He and his wife have four grandchildren and they often visit MI parks and playgrounds.